Email marketing is the grandfather of all digital marketing. It was one of the first and is definitely the longest standing online marketing tool, and with all of the hype surrounding newer and more novel marketing campaigns for mobile devices and social media, it can be easy to forget about email marketing and purpose it can serve.

 

While it may seem like “ancient history,” email marketing is still one of the most effective types of digital marketing, with higher engagement and higher returns than just about any other campaign. What does this mean for your business? It means that email marketing is a vital piece of any marketing strategy and should be the foundation of all other marketing efforts.

 

Scalable

 

One of the best parts of email marketing is that it if done the right way, it works on every single device, ranging from laptops and desktops to mobile devices. Unlike other campaigns that are specifically for one kind of device or which may not scale well from a laptop to a mobile devices, email marketing, if in the right format, will be possible to check on a standard PC or on a small smartphone screen, without any real interruption in quality.

 

This gives you a reach and flexibility that no other kind of campaign can. You do not have to create separate campaigns for mobile users and PC users, the same email will work for both—that means fewer costs and greater returns in the long run.

 

Bolsters Other Campaigns

 

Getting someone to sign up for your email newsletter is often the goal of your marketing campaigns, leading some to see email marketing as the endgame, not as the starting point. While it is true that you have to get someone to give you their email address before you can add them to your email marketing campaign, once you have built your email list, you can use this list to support and improve your other campaigns, directing your subscribers to your social media and landing pages.

 

Builds Customer Loyalty

 

One of the biggest benefits of a healthy email marketing campaign is customer retention and loyalty. Because your brand name shows up in their inbox every day, they are far more likely to choose your company when looking to make a purchase. The personal connection that is built through email marketing is vital to a sustainable business. After all, it’s much cheaper to keep an existing customer than to go out and find news ones. Email marketing is the best way to promote customer retention, whether your marketing list is used to send out promotions or just company updates.

 

Highly Targeted

 

What makes email marketing so effective is the opt-in, opt-out nature of your address list. Providing your customers with the ability to decide how often and even what kinds of emails they get from your company means that you have a much better chance of reaching a captive audience.

 

You can do all the marketing research in the world for your other campaigns, looking for the best venue, where your target customers are likely to be, but only email marketing really lets your customers tell you what marketing is relevant to their needs. Because customers have to opt in to your list, either by directly providing their email address through a subscription field, or by making an online purchase, they already want to receive messages from you.

 

Higher Engagement

 

Again, because of that opt-in, opt-out format, those who receive your email marketing messages are far more likely to first, actually read them, and second be receptive to them. This gives email marketing a leg up over just about every other kind of marketing, which many consumers find to be an annoyance, rather than a beneficial or necessary part of the consumer-company relationship.

 

Because they have actually asked for you to market to them, you have a much higher chance of actually getting them to view the marketing message. Engagement is a massive problem across all marketing channels, but less so with email marketing, making it more valuable than just about any other campaign.

 

Better Returns

 

Not only is email marketing less expensive than most other strategies, it also brings in more returns. And best of all, there is automation software that makes it extremely easy to regularly show up in the inboxes of your customers. It’s cheap, easy, and brings in serious cash, without needing to be babysat like many other marketing tactics.

 

Because email marketing targets people that have already made some kind of commitment to your brand, either by willingly signing up for your emails or by making a purchase, you have a captive audience that is already primed to spend their time and money on your brand again.